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Bone The Fish - Most Recent Comments!

Who said you can't coin your own term? What is "Boning the Fish"? It's a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite TV Show, Celebrity, Movie Series or Music Group has reached its peak. That instant you know from now on...it's all downhill. Some call it a climax of sorts. We call it "Boning the fish". From that moment on things will simply never be the same.

Cartoon Network - Random Topicshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyO2HHpmlt4&feature=related Ironically, Cartoon Network made fun of people asking them to show live action about 10 years ago in this advertisement. Which was made before htye sold their soul to Satan apparently. Even more Ironic is that they have shown Jim Carrey films on the "CN" in the last year, because they are "Cartoon Like". MTV, CN and "SyFy" can all go drown in vats of Lemon Juice and Slaw. -- Submitted By: (Chubby Rain) on July 27, 2009, 9:34 am

Calvin and Hobbes - Random TopicsWhile I miss getting fresh doses of first run Calvin and Hobbes, I'm still glad that Bill Watterson quit at peak form. I'm equally glad that he fought and won the battle to minimize the "merchandising" of his characters. The result is that when I think of Calvin and Hobbes, I think of ten years of stellar cartooning that still hold up well more than twenty years later. I think that beats the perception of those ten years being tainted by years of decline, or seeing his unique characters being used to peddle bedsheets or sugared cereal. Watterson likely turned down multiple millions by not taking the more conventional route with his creations, and I salute him for it. I have the complete works in book form, and they're already working their magic on the next generation (who resembles Calvin in a number of ways...!) -- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 27, 2009, 6:57 am

Bugs Bunny Show - TV ShowsThe classic Bugs Bunny cartoons still rock and always will. The show on TV, however, boned when they started editing out everything that was considered overly violent or politically incorrect - for example, the "singing frog guy" not getting an audience until he put out a sign announcing "FREE BEER!" In the "edited for PC" version, "Free Admission" draws a crowd. When you're old enough to remember the cartoons in their full intact glory, the cuts are REALLY annoying! I would buy DVD collections of the cartoons if there was a guarantee that they were uncut, and therefore untouched by the bluenosed hyper-PC fish-boners at WB. -- Submitted By: (Mythigator) on July 27, 2009, 6:27 am

Cartoon Network - Random TopicsWith their current campaign of marketing themselves as "not just cartoons," CN is making the same mistake that MTV did. Get out the lemon juice and coleslaw! -- Submitted By: (Mythigator) on July 27, 2009, 6:19 am

Quiznos - Random TopicsQuiznos actually makes a pretty good sandwich, but with all of the bizarre ads you gotta wonder what their marketing team has been smoking. Whatever it is, it's not fish! -- Submitted By: (Mythigator) on July 27, 2009, 6:10 am

Aladdin - Movie SeriesYet another case of "If Disney makes a direct-to-video sequel, somewhere there's a fish with unspeakable things happening to it!" With Aladdin, though, Disney compounded the violation by apparently operating under the delusion that bringing Robin Williams back to voice the genie in the third movie would make everything all right. Sorry, fellas -- didn't work. -- Submitted By: (Mythigator) on July 27, 2009, 6:00 am

Smallville - TV ShowsDo they have to make every girl on the show enamored of him. I hate that. Everybody always telling him what a special guy he is. I know it's to build the mythos. But give it a rest. Why hasn't one girl once thought he was a jerk.
Then his constipation of his relationship with Lois. I once commented on the lack of chemistry between Durance and Welling but I it's gradually been building on one side Durance's. I feel like Lana left so long ago and he's STILL not over it. What's worse they make Lois secretly fawn for him and him kind of be ambivalent about. Every other series he's been head of heel in love first and she's been reluctant. I don't like it. It makes Lois look desperate like every other girl Clark didnt really like who he politely pushed aside. If I where Lois I been done secretly loving a loser who couldn't can get over his ex girlfriend. -- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 27, 2009, 3:31 am

Rugrats Movie, The - Movie SeriesThis cartoon should have been pulled off the air before a movie could be made. Angelica is one of the worst cartoon characters in history. She was a manipulating, lying little b****. She makes the South Park kids look like role models. -- Submitted By: (MCS) on July 27, 2009, 12:42 am

Sarah Jessica Parker - CelebritiesThis woman is not even close to attractive but she sure thinks she is. -- Submitted By: (MCS) on July 27, 2009, 12:39 am

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1985) - TV ShowsWhile it was very unrealistic that no one ever died (and I seem to remember another cliche being Cobra shooting down the Joes planes and the pilots *always* were able to eject and parachute to safety) it was part of the charm of the show.
It's ironic however that people say that it being a kid's show should keep them being having characters dying. I admit that I tend to feel the same way. However, in reality, it's the adults that character deaths and violence tend to bother more.
Though having *someone* die even as a special episode could have been interesting, it could also have opened a Pandora's box when all of the sudden characters were dying all of the time like Redshirts.
Seriously though, even though the show was basically a commercial for the toys, it was still a fun show and one I enjoyed as a kid. It may seem silly now, but I think a lot of kids enjoyed it back then and I think that's what matters. -- Submitted By: (ExplodingConsole) on July 26, 2009, 10:33 pm

Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994-1998) - TV ShowsA enjoyable cartoon. Peter's smart alec commentary was funny. They may have used some elements common to 90s cartoons like making sure to show us that any innocent bystanders that got hurt were always okay in the end. Although the alternative while more realistic tends to take away some of the romance of super heroes. However, I think they found a good balance between drama, comedy and cool that made for an overall enjoyable show. -- Submitted By: (ExplodingConsole) on July 26, 2009, 4:31 pm

IMDB - WebsitesI know from experience that when it comes to forums and such, there are some moderators who are beyond unreasonable. They delete posts, whether they are clean, not off subject, etc. or not. Why? One or more of three reasons: they don't like the topic, they don't like your message, and/or they don't like YOU. It doesn't matter how well you obey their TOS...if the moderator does not like you or the message you just made, it's GONE. -- Submitted By: (Robert) on July 26, 2009, 3:36 pm

Invader Zim - TV ShowsWhat a shame. This was a great cartoon. It wasn't even given a chance. -- Submitted By: (Robert) on July 26, 2009, 3:12 pm

House - TV Shows1. One of the funniest parts of this show were the cases in the clinic, off the story line but always funny; House in clinic duty was always House :-) They should bring that back, if only for comic relief since the show has become so serious.
2. I found one of the most memorable moments was before House allucinated having sex with Cuddy, the lines: Cuddy-You want to kiss me right now, don't you? House-I always want to kiss you. Call me a soppy girl, but that line stuck with me :-) -- Submitted By: (ElsaTS) on July 26, 2009, 2:51 pm

Pamela Anderson - CelebritiesPamela was at her hottest as Lisa the original tool girl on Home Improvement, and as C.J. Parker on Baywatch (a.k.a. BoobWatch). After that, though, enter Tommy Lee, assorted weirdness, and Hep C, and she was done as a viable sex symbol. -- Submitted By: (Mythigator) on July 26, 2009, 6:33 am

Tick, The - TV ShowsThe Tick and Arthur spend the day at the superhero retirement home.
"The Terror," an elderly villain, seeks a weapon that was taken from him years ago.
"The Visual Eye," an elderly superhero muses: "Oh, the Ray Gun was terrible weapon. Turned everyone it hit into a guy named 'Ray.'"
(Flashes to a sepia-toned city scape crawling with friendly, young gas station attendents with the name "Ray" on each of their uniform shirts)
Ray: "Fill 'er up, chief?"
The Visual Eye: "Then there was the Tommy Gun..." -- Submitted By: (Jim92065) on July 25, 2009, 9:54 pm

College - Random TopicsI'm not American and I admit that I don't fully know how it works in the States. However, from what I hear it seems that going to College (especially going *away* to College) is now to the point of being a coming of age for young Americans. It seems to be more the idea of the College experience then anything.
Therein lies the problem. College is expensive. As people have already said, people are getting degrees that require a lot of work and might sound cool on paper. But, when it comes to getting a job the degree just isn't marketable.
High School is almost sounding like it's become a four year commercial or preparation for College.
Education is a wonderful thing. However, College is not for everyone. I think people need to stop seeing College as required where you go because 'you have to' and see it as a privilege. That's not to say I think people should be looking for excuses not to go to Colleges. More that I think people should be going to College for the right reasons. -- Submitted By: (ExplodingConsole) on July 25, 2009, 2:04 pm

Celebrity Fit Club - TV ShowsThis was a pretty decent show until Dustin Diamond completely ruined it with his antics. I also agree that these people are hardly celebrities. -- Submitted By: (MCS) on July 25, 2009, 12:18 pm

Wallace and Gromit - Movie SeriesNope, never boned. Brilliant cartoon, good animation, good characters, good everything. Hope it lasts a long time. -- Submitted By: (Johnny_T._Bird) on July 25, 2009, 10:15 am

Mystery Science Theater 3000 - TV ShowsLet me start by saying this was probably one of the funniest TV shows Ive ever seen. The riffing and commentary made me laugh out loud, not many shows have done that to me. Anyway, it tried to Bone when Joel left, it wasn't the same, but Mike Nelson was pretty hilarious himself. Joel and Mike both had their moments in my book, but the show Boned for good when Dr. Forrester left, and was replaced by his Mother, and Tv's Frank was replaced by the Ape men and the alien. The story ark didn't work, making the host segments suffer. The riffing in the theater segments never boned, though. But by the later part of the show, that was all I watched. -- Submitted By: (Johnny_T._Bird) on July 25, 2009, 10:12 am

Emperor's New Groove, The - Movie SeriesThe Emperor's New Groove was hilarious by being random and silly, and it appealed to everyone. Kronk's New Groove just felt like another "kiddie movie". -- Submitted By: (Johnny_T._Bird) on July 25, 2009, 9:59 am

All That - TV ShowsIMO it started getting bad around the early 2000's. Most of the original cast had left, but my main problem was that the show itself started getting obnoxious, juvenile, boring and not funny. -- Submitted By: (Johnny_T._Bird) on July 25, 2009, 9:55 am

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood - TV ShowsNever boned then, if it was still going today, it never would. Fred Rogers never talked down to kids, treated kids like anyone else, and took his time. Taught everything from Kindness and manners, to Tieing shoes and how crayons and milk are made. The neighborhood of make believe was also nice. (Why all the hate with Lady Elaine? I loved her as a kid). -- Submitted By: (Johnny_T._Bird) on July 25, 2009, 9:49 am

Pokemon - TV ShowsGod, the Anime of this series stunk. The first and second seasons were okay (But they got butchered here in the U.S. by that damn 4Kids (one of the worst dubbing companies in existence), and, of course, I believe this show put them on the map)The plots weren't bad, but I couldn't stand Ash. (The only badges he won fair where, what, The Volcano, Thunder, and Soul Badges?) Then he just turns around and gets rid of all his good Pokemon (Think about it, by now he woulda had a team consisting of Primeape, Haunter(probably a Gengar), Lapras, Pidegot, Butterfree, and Larvitar/Pupitar(probably a Tyranitar) but no, he got rid of em all for that ****** rat. And TR was annoying as hell... Hey, Ash, just have 'em locked up. Then with the 'Johto Journeys' saga it got predictable and boring, with Ash and co. getting more grating, I just stopped watching. Gary was pretty good though, (Yeah, he was complete ***, but he had a nice team, knew what he was doing, and was laid back) just tell him to get rid of those annoying cheerleaders. -- Submitted By: (Johnny_T._Bird) on July 25, 2009, 9:42 am

Pokemon - Random TopicsWith Red, Blue and Yellow the game was pretty good. Yes, the Sound F/X and Graphics were bad, but it was still a fun game. The designs of the Pokemon were pretty good, (For every Slowpoke ya had a Ninetails, so it was balanced out), the plot was original, and the dialogue was good. With Gold/Silver/Crystal, there weren't too many Pokemon. And the addition of Johto balanced out the newer Pokemon (So you didn't have 900 Pokemon in just 1 region). Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald had better graphics, and it was basically the same, But my complaint was that there were too many Pokemon by now, and I felt the Legendary Pokemon had worn out their welcome. (There were like 20 by now), and... They had about 400 Pokemon confined to just one region. Fire Red and Leaf Green were pretty good though, you know, for the nostalgia. Diamond/Pearl/Platinum I felt the same, (Now there's 500 of them) but the games were still fun, and they had improved even more (The 3-D animations in D/P/PT) Heartgold and Soulsilver look good (The upcoming G/S remakes). Oh well, Pokemon is a business, I guess. Not to mention one of Nintendo's biggest games, it would be a bad move it end it now (Not that they should). -- Submitted By: (Johnny_T._Bird) on July 25, 2009, 9:12 am

Indiana Jones - Movie SeriesRaiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade were all great movies. The "Young Indiana Jones" series was also good, I didn't think Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was the god-awful abomination everybody made it out to be, but it wasn't as good as the first 3 films, and it wasn't anything to write home about. -- Submitted By: (Johnny_T._Bird) on July 25, 2009, 8:39 am

Tales of the Gold Monkey - TV ShowsI'd guess its not on dvd cause it wasn't A. fithy enough B. edgy enough or C. Music copyright issues which hold up alot of releases? -- Submitted By: (ChrissyM) on July 25, 2009, 5:59 am

Batman: The Animated Series - TV ShowsBatman TAS was a classic right from day one. They found a way to make use of dark and gritty themes but without overdoing it and making the show depressing.
I like how they weren't afraid to have touching scenes (scenes in a couple of episodes come to mind) but again, were able to do in such a way that felt natural and reminded us that despite being Batman, Batman was a still human being.
I also like how they were able to use comical scenes but did it in a mature way that kept the show from getting too moody but without turning it into farce and/or making light of serious events.
This show is an example of a mature show. Yes, it had violence (I mean, it's Batman, it's going to have violence) and there were times that the censors might have had them tone things down but I think this is a show that you can watch as a kid or teen and come back to as an adult and still enjoy it. It was mature in that it was serious but not so serious as to be dark and depressing enough that you feel like crap after watching every episode.
When the character designs changed, it just didn't feel the same. The plots were still all right but something about the feel of it changed. -- Submitted By: (ExplodingConsole) on July 25, 2009, 1:34 am

Sam Kinison - CelebritiesSam was one of the all time greats. The world of comedy hasn't been the same since his death. RIP Sammy. -- Submitted By: (BrianBuck) on July 25, 2009, 12:01 am

Dane Cook - CelebritiesDane Cook has set a new standard for suckage in American culture. -- Submitted By: (BrianBuck) on July 24, 2009, 11:45 pm

Even Stevens - TV ShowsThe show that launched Shia LaBeouf and left the ensemble cast that made the show good in the 2nd season in the dust.
-- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 24, 2009, 11:45 pm

My Super Sweet 16 - TV ShowsYou guys are absolutely right. You watch this series and wonder why the parents didn't permeantly place their foots in these kids asses.
I remember one episode where this fat mixed girl was having a total bitch fest because her mom wouldn't stop and get her a ice latte on her way to school. You find yourself wanting to reach the t.v and strangle this people. -- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 24, 2009, 11:01 pm

Beakman's World - TV Shows I swear everytime I watched this I wonder if I was high. It had sort of a Pee Wee's Playhouse thing going on. -- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 24, 2009, 10:40 pm

Student Bodies - TV ShowsOther than the original Saved By The Bell which is of iconic stasis. Student Bodies could have eaten all thoses other teen shows.Saved By The Bell:The new class California Dreams,USA High,Malibu Ca,One World,City Guys sometimes.
They packed more punch in one episode then -- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 24, 2009, 10:23 pm

All of Us - TV ShowsI African American I found this show to be abyssmally boring. I always either have to change the channel or risk falling into a comma. No wonder Elise Neal got out of there. -- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 24, 2009, 10:06 pm

Butt-Ugly Martians - TV ShowsHow in G-d's name did they get the late great Robert Stack to do this show!? The title itself should have been a big warning light. -- Submitted By: (Travoltron) on July 24, 2009, 6:28 pm

Family Guy - TV ShowsI think Family Guy has its shortcomings for sure. I think that they push the envelope constantly in terms of taste and sensibility but I see no difference between how they approach it and how South Park approaches it. And I think both shows are brilliant and funny. I also think that Family Guy has remained more or less the same type of show over the years, only exaggerated itself, much like South Park and much like The Simpsons. I find similarities between the three, sure, but I don't see the reasons behind people liking one over the other or accusing one of being a ripoff of another. If you really think about it, everything ripped off the Simpsons simply because they did it first but Simpsons had inspirations from elsewhere before it too. Family Guy has a lot of brilliance to it. I watch Simpsons for its narrative and sight gag, I watch South Park for its satire and parody, and I watch Family Guy for its cutaways and its one-liners. They are brilliant. They don't need a solid plot or consistent characters for it to be funny. It's still funny. Lastly, the musical numbers are top notch and they're the only animated show who can pull them off. I think Family Guy just has its own place separate from the others. -- Submitted By: (SamuraiPanda201) on July 24, 2009, 4:05 pm

Futurama - TV ShowsFuturama is a superior comedy with a strong, colorful cast of characters that is a lot more tightly focused than the huge Simpsons cast. I think its irreverent humor carves out the niche that Family Guy should have had but then started trying to be something else. I think Futurama's comedy is smart and witty without ever being too high-brow or inaccessible. It was a travesty when it was cancelled and Bender's Big Score showed everyone how good their narratives could be when given the chance. -- Submitted By: (SamuraiPanda201) on July 24, 2009, 4:00 pm

Sega (Company) - Random TopicsThe whole blast processing fiasco really turned me off of Sega once I discovered it was all a lie. It also turned me off of Sonic in particular.
Bashing Mario to make Sonic look cool was a bad marketing choice to put mildly. Badmouthing a beloved mascot to make your mascot look good by comparison only serves to do the opposite. -- Submitted By: (ExplodingConsole) on July 24, 2009, 2:11 pm

Highlander - Movie SeriesThe director's cut was released in Japan:
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=GNBA-7562
But never released in the US like they had promised.
-- Submitted By: (Travoltron) on July 24, 2009, 12:09 pm

Prisoner, The - TV ShowsMy vote is for the last episode, "Fall Out". Up to that point, the series had its ups and downs, and the episodes that were intended to be part of the abortive "second season" of the program are generally not as good as those from the first. However, the program was consistently entertaining, interesting, thought provoking, and unquestionably unique. The problem of setting up any "mythology" in a show, as Chris Carter found out with the "X Files", is that sooner or later you have to answer the questions that you've raised. That's why the last episode loses it: it answers nothing about the previous 16 episodes, but rather asks a new set of questions, and then doesn't answer them either! It would appear that the series had been cancelled with 16 episodes either completed or in production (26 episodes were originally planned), and a final 17th episode was cobbled together in a great rush to try and give some resolution to the series. Originally, series creator Patrick MacGoohan said that all the answers were in the final episode. However, in a later interview, MacGoohan stated (regarding "Fall Out"): "If anybody admits to understanding it, then please pass the understanding on to me." Mind you, the fact that there wasn't a coherent ending (plus the presence of lots of symbolism to encourage endless debate on what it all really means) is probably the main reason for the cult attraction of the series. -- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 24, 2009, 11:58 am

Olympics, The - TV ShowsMy opinion is that Olympics boned the fish from the first time they were televised: The Nazi Olympics from Berlin in 1936. (It's surprising just how many things that people think have been with the Modern Olympics from the beginning actually were creations of Hitler, Speer et. al. for the 1936 games, but that's another matter). In terms of nationalistic bias, etc., not much has changed in the coverage of the games since. -- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 24, 2009, 11:40 am

Hunter - TV ShowsIMO, Fred Dryer played Hunter like he was a giant, hulky version of Sgt. Joe Friday. -- Submitted By: (Pelirojo) on July 24, 2009, 11:38 am

Space: 1999 - TV ShowsSorry, but I thought the characters (and situations) were dullsville- even though I desperately wanted something besides "Star Trek" reruns to help quench my tv sci-fi thirst (and "The Starlost" was even more boring). What's more as far back as I can remember, I knew that blasting something on the Dark Side of the Moon strongly enough to send it out of orbit would hurl the Moon TOWARDS Earth not away from it (not to mention everything/everyone not attached to it would have flown off into space). And they were pitching it to us Boomers,etc. who'd literally cut our teeth watching Apollo missions just a few years earlier?! No wonder it bombed! -- Submitted By: (Pelirojo) on July 24, 2009, 11:32 am

Davey and Goliath - TV ShowsAlthough I considered it VERY preachy even when first seeing it as a toddler, I still had fun with it because Goliath always would show up Davey- despite Davey calling the dog 'Dopey'! Not surprisingly, Art Clokey considered this series a means to pay his bills so he could finance his REAL(and more fun) favorite "Gumby". Still, this series wasn't without its benefits. Like the episode in which Davey lost his father's skis due to carelessness and his father scolded and punished him for it- but made it clear that just because he was angry at Davey for his action didn't mean that he'd stopped loving him! Yes, even if one is NOT a Christian (and isn't ready to apply the above rationale to God Himself re boneheaded humans); it's still something worth considering re familial etc, dynamics. -- Submitted By: (Pelirojo) on July 24, 2009, 11:25 am

M*A*S*H - TV ShowsMASH boned the fish during its fifth season. My wife and I bought each season of the series on DVD as it came out, but the fifth season was the last we bought. However, I don't feel that the crash is due to the departure of Frank Burns. Larry Linville left because he felt that he had done everything that he could with the character, and I suspect he was probably right. The whole Margaret & Frank thing was getting a little tired by the beginning of the fifth season of the show, and I guess the producers wanted to try something new for her character. Given that Frank was a rather one dimensional character, that didn't leave much for him to do, and I think that his departure (particularly the way that it was handled in the sixth season premiere) was well timed and perfectly executed. I think the real reason that MASH boned at about this point was the increasing ascendancy of Alan Alda behind the camera, following the departure of Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds. This would have happened regardless of whether Frank Burns stayed or left, although it's hard to imagine what would have happened to his character in the 'kinder, gentler MASH' of the late seventies and early eighties had he stayed. Would Frank have ultimately ended up as a good guy? The mind boggle... -- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 24, 2009, 9:56 am

Peanuts (comic strip) - Random TopicsPeanuts is getting its due in the ongoing release of The Complete Peanuts in hardcover volumes. Each one has two years of the original strip, and there will be 25 volumes in total by the time the full run of the strip is reprinted. Nothing could be more appropriate for what was probably the most groundbreaking comic strip of the latter half of the 20th century. -- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 24, 2009, 9:41 am

Butt-Ugly Martians - TV ShowsWith a name like "Butt-Ugly", it speaks for itself. -- Submitted By: (Robert) on July 24, 2009, 9:40 am

Waiting For God - TV ShowsOne of the best Britcoms ever. This hilarious show once aired on PBS on Saturday night as part of the Britcom block, but it was replaced by the not-as-funny Vicar of Dibley. I have seasons 1-4 of WfG on DVD. If you miss the comical actions of Diana and Tom, get the DVDs. -- Submitted By: (Robert) on July 24, 2009, 9:36 am

Space: 1999 - TV ShowsSpace 1999 is a problematic series to categorize in terms of boning the fish. The technical stuff on the series was extremely good: the sets were up to contemporary movie standards, never mind television, and the SFX and model work was nearly as good (before Star Wars changed the basis for comparison). There were some well written scripts in the first season: reading some of the scripts, you get the impression that the finished product should be incredible. In some cases it was: The standout episode to me is "Death's Other Dominion", which works really well, owing to an excellent guest cast. I also recall "Dragon's Domain", the tentacled monster episode, one of only two things that ever really scared me on television. So, what's not to like? It seems to me that the problems are with the featured performers, specifically, the two leads. Considering that they were married at the time, Landau and Bain really don't seem to have much chemistry, and sometimes, Bain's acting is positively painful to watch. I really liked Barry Morse, Prentice Hancock, and Nick Tate, but they have a hard time working against the two principal actors. Nonetheless, as described above, there are a number of standout episodes -- Also great are "War Games" and "The Infernal Machine". In these two (and "Death's Other Dominion"), good writing and ideas really stand out. Perhaps with some changes to the cast, Space 1999 might have been superb, rather than merely good. I've avoided commenting on the second season. I've seen the first season episodes recently, and my comments reflect a different viewpoint than the second season episodes, which I only saw in first run. So it wouldn't be fair to make a comparison. -- Submitted By: () on July 24, 2009, 8:40 am

Turn-On - TV ShowsTurn On is one of at least five network TV shows to have the sad distinction of only running once. Other examples are You're in the Picture (CBS, Jan. 20, 1961), Co Ed Fever (CBS, Feb. 4, 1979), South of Sunset (CBS, Oct. 27, 1993), and Dot Comedy (ABC, Dec. 15, 2000). Perhaps Turn On deserves the crown of shortest run in network history over the other four: in some markets, the sole episode was pulled off the air in mid broadcast! What I don't understand is how something that could be so universally rejected by audiences (and staff at the stations) ever got to be broadcast in the first place. I assume that someone had to have seen it before broadcast: I wonder how the people who approved this felt after the fact. Maybe because it was from the producers of Laugh In (a big hit at the time), it didn't go through the usual scrutiny. -- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 24, 2009, 8:07 am

Star Trek TNG - TV ShowsThis was a good series, once they got past the first two seasons and managed to come up with the show's own unique identity, rather than just an updated version of the sixties original.
In fact, I think the reason that the subsequent movies featuring the TNG crew didn't fare very well (relative to those featuring the original series crew) is because the movies weren't any improvement on some of the better two parters from the TV series. This is high praise indeed for the series.
Seven years was probably just about enough: the show went out on a high note, before the characters wore out their welcome and the quality crashed. This was a classy move on the part of the people behind the show.
-- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 24, 2009, 8:03 am

Scientology - Random TopicsWho voted for never boned? Really? Someone should tell them they boned the fish, but then they would get sued and harrassed by the secret police of scientology... -- Submitted By: (Chubby Rain) on July 24, 2009, 7:43 am

Gangland - TV ShowsI really dig this show, and I recently saw the "Mongols MC" epsisode which was really cool. However these guys talk alot of trash and are ery open about their semi criminal enterprise when it was filmed around 2005-2006. So I wondered what ever happened to those guys from the show-
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/07/mongols-exleader-pleads-guilty-to-racketeering-faces-20-years.html and I see the guy that talked the most trash about how he was untouchable offered a plea deal and surrenedered the gang copyrighted logo to the feds!! News to criminals, I love to watch you on TV, but you cannot ruin the gang for being on a show. Now did the show do them in? Maybe maybe not, but the tell you way too much information for a History channel show, this cannot help these gangs. So reluctantly the Mongol Bone the fish for this show by getting in so much trouble, after they were on the show.
-- Submitted By: (Chubby Rain) on July 24, 2009, 7:42 am

Davey and Goliath - TV ShowsThis show is one of my memories of kids television before the 300 channel universe, in the days before there was 24 hour kids programming, DVDs, VCRs, or anything to watch other than what the network programming guys happened to send your way. As a kid in the early 70's, Saturday morning was pretty much all kids programming on all channels. This was a big deal for me: I guess there was kids programming before and after school on weekdays, but for various reasons, I wasn't usually able to see it. So for me, Saturday morning was a once weekly golden feast of kid friendly programming, combined with the free time to relax and enjoy it. Sunday morning, by comparison had the free time, but all the TV stations offered was a vast wasteland of 'religious' programming, with about as much entertainment value to a seven year old as watching paint dry. Davey and Goliath was the best of a bad lot: Still religious programming (albeit concealed as a kids cartoon), but at least watchable. Even at the age of seven, I could tell that the messages the program was trying to get across weren't exactly subtle, and my youthful sarcastic instincts were honed making fun of the characters and the rather heavy handed moral messages. I think better of what the program and its creators were trying to accomplish now, but at the time it just didn't have the entertainment value of more conventional kids programming. For example, D & G wouldn't have stood a chance if it had been run against Bugs Bunny, for instance. Davey and Goliath will always be a memory of a time when the entertainment world was a lot smaller, and of the things we watched because there was literally nothing else on. -- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 24, 2009, 7:41 am

Soap - TV ShowsI was too young to watch Soap in first run when it originally appeared (although I had certainly heard of it), and the closest that I got was watching the opening titles, which were pretty funny all by themselves. I got into this series years later, when purely by chance, I tuned into the first episode as it started a syndication run. (At the time, I didn't know it was the first episode). I wasn't used to television with continuing story lines, and by the end of that first half hour (and the shows amazing range of loopy, yet sympathetic characters), I was hooked. Personally, I think the first season and the beginning of the second of Soap is a great piece of television. In watching it, there's no doubt whatsoever that you're watching something from the seventies, and the way that Billy Crystal's character was handled is a bit hard to watch today. Despite this, it's still vastly entertaining, and always leaves you wanting more. The series gradually eroded as members of the original cast left: the most notable departures being Diane Canova (Corinne: I had the hots for her in a big way) and Robert Guillaume (Benson). The new characters brought in to replace them just weren't the same. -- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 24, 2009, 7:38 am

Family Feud - TV ShowsSo true I saw a FF epsiode recently and it was so nutty where the people were giving answers that made no sense like "name a popular vegeetable to serve at dinner" and the answer was something obscure like "eggplant" and everyone cheered to the big score of "zero". #1 answer was something obvious like corn or beans. Sheesh. -- Submitted By: (Chubby Rain) on July 24, 2009, 7:34 am

Family Feud - TV ShowsFamily Feud boned the fish the first time (whenever it was) that all the members of one of the families said "good answer, good answer!" after one of their members answered the question with something stupid that was obviously the wrong answer. It happened just about every time thereafter: "good answer, good answer!" anytime someone answered a question with something really, really dumb. Did the producers tell them that they had to, or what? -- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 24, 2009, 7:24 am

Bugs Bunny Show - TV ShowsWhen referring to the decline of Warner Brothers cartoon, you're really referring to the decline of the cartoons at the cinema, as nearly all of the WB cartoons now seen on TV were originally made for theatrical exhibition, and by the time that the original Bugs Bunny Show (before it was merged with the separate Road Runner show that came later) came about, the WB theatrical cartoons were either already extinct, or in terminal decline. I date the BTF moment for the theatrical cartoons to somewhere in the 1958 to 1960 timeframe. It isn't any one thing: It just becomes gradually apparent that the quality of the work being produced by these very talented artists was in decline. Among the evidence of this decline is less attention provided to the musical scores, noticeably cheaper animation, recycling of material from older cartoons, the death of Arthur Q. Bryan (voice of Elmer Fudd), etc. Some very good material was still done during this time: "What's Opera Doc?", often considered the finest Cartoon ever made, was done in 1958, but increasingly, these are the exception. It is perhaps indicative of the state of affairs that Chuck Jones had to 'steal' the extra time needed to make 'Opera' a masterpiece by having his crew make Road Runner cartoons before and after, so that extra time 'borrowed' from the RR cartoons could be used to do 'Opera' properly.
In a way, the Warner Brothers cartoons could almost be divided into several different programs, as there is a considerable difference in the cartoons over the years. This was emphasized more in the past: in my youth, the cartoons were usually divided up into 4 different packages roughly according to their era. The first package contained the black and white cartoons, generally from 1940 or earlier: the older Porky Pig cartoons and the earliest appearances of Daffy Duck. The next package (and the least often seen) were the color cartoons from about 1940 to 1947. (At one point, Warner Brothers sold their entire catalog of pre 1947 films, including the cartoons: they only bought the pre 1947 cartoons back a few years ago. Thus, the pre 1947 stuff usually appeared on independent stations, and at odd times, usually very early in the morning). Next was the stuff that people are most familiar with, the theatrical cartoons from 1947 to about 1964 or so. And finally, the cartoons produced for Warner Brothers (by Depatie Freleng, I think) from 1964 up to the end of 1969 were usually off in a package of their own. Each of these eras is different, with different directors (although the most fondly remembered is probably the 1947 to 1964 triumvirate of Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng and Robert McKimson: my youthful counterparts had all these names memorized, and we worshipped these people!) and different styles.
At its best, the output of the Warner Brothers cartoon department ranks as probably the finest short animation ever produced. Given this, it was positively painful to watch these cartoons cut up in the name of 'excessive violence' by the TV networks. We all grew up on this stuff, and anyone over the age of four years old knew that what happened in a cartoon (or a cartoon equivalent, like The Three Stooges) was *entertainment*, not a blueprint for real life. In fact, I think that the censorship of these cartoons for so-called violence was largely a sham, as there was plenty of more objectionable material out there. I think that the real reason that the cartoons were being cut was to reduce running time so that more commercials could be inserted. The ongoing release of the Warner Brothers cartoon catalog on DVD frees us from this, and we can see these cartoons (violent gags and all) as their creators meant them to be seen. (Remember that these cartoons weren't specifically intended for children: they were intended for everyone, and were aimed at adults at least as much as children). This is Retro TV at its finest!
-- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 24, 2009, 7:19 am

Battlestar Galactica 1978 - TV ShowsI don't know if I could nail it down to a specific episode, but there is a clear decline in quality from the beginning of Battlestar Galactica (classic) to the end, and this is explained in some of the bonus material on the DVD set. Supposedly, the original intention was to make four TV movies similar to the opening three hour special, and then proceed to the regular series. The higher budgets for the 'movies' would pay for a pool of special effects shots and the construction of a wide range of models, props, sets and other hardware, which could later be reused, keeping the costs down and the quality relatively high. Instead, they went straight to the series after only one movie, without the budget to sustain the level of set design, etc. established in the first six or so episodes. The results are glaringly apparent towards the end of the only season: the Cylons practically disappear, to be replaced with human adversaries that were cheaper to film, the same special effects sequences are repeated endlessly and (newly generated) SFX-intensive stuff is avoided wherever possible to save money. When I recently watched the series again for the first time in nearly 30 years (gotta love DVDs!), I was stunned at how glaringly apparent this is. Even some of the mid level cast members disappear (with no explanation) towards the end of the series. In the interviews on the DVD, some cast members admit that they were getting the scripts with no time to rehearse and were effectively reading it off cue cards, and in some of the later shows you can really tell. This doesn't consider the scripts: here, the quality is pretty bad from the start. It's a shame, because BG was almost the only big chance that 'science fiction' (or whatever you want to call it) got on American television for a very long period of time (basically between the original Star Trek, and the advent of Star Trek: TNG). It's sad with the budget and opportunity available that more wasn't made of it. And if Battlestar Galactica is a shark jump, then Galactica 1980 is a ballistic missile launch! -- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 24, 2009, 7:01 am

Antiques Road Show - TV ShowsMy wife's comment on AR: "Have you ever noticed that the more ugly and hideous something is, the more it tends to be worth?". The valuations of some of the so called antiques remind me of a certain style in furnishings where you pay a huge amount of money for intentionally "distressed" furnishings that look like rejects from the city dump. The other thing that I wonder about: how much stuff do they have to go through to get the 10 to 12 items that appear on each program? The backgrounds would suggest that there must be thousands of people dragging stuff out to the show sites. For the rejects: How about a program with a really nasty, sarcastic announcer talking about the really ugly, useless, valueless stuff that some people bring in, particularly if they look really greedy. Example: "You really dragged this piece of crap in here thinking it was worth something?! What do you use for brains?! Stop wasting my time!" Now THAT is something I would watch. PBS, are you listening? -- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 24, 2009, 6:56 am

Highlander - Movie SeriesId like to hear more about this- MADHOUSE! the animation studio is beyond awesome. I wonder what got cut? -- Submitted By: (Chubby Rain) on July 24, 2009, 5:10 am

Blossom - TV ShowsBlossom wasn't supposed to be hot. Damn does every show need a someone you like to bone. In order to watch it. I like it.
She was interesting. The storylines where pretty great if you got into. It was an emotional wave without you being caught in the tide. i.e MY SO CALLED LIFE.
If you wanted fluff. Go watch a Peter Engel show. -- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 24, 2009, 2:42 am

USA High - TV ShowsAnother Peter Engel produced show with all glitz and substance. Set in a different country. The Winnie-Christian relationship and Ashley's zany escapades made the show half interesting. The rest of the characters where one dimensional. Basically ever fout episode was good. -- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 24, 2009, 1:59 am

Saved by the Bell: The New Class - TV ShowsNot to hurt Natalia Cigliuti feelings because she got fine. But back in the day she was not Kelly Kapowski. I saw her on this show and she was not "dream girl worthy."
-- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 24, 2009, 1:30 am

Office, The - TV ShowsOh please you real need to get a grip. Yeah no real company would hire them back. What's your basis. You two reign fortune 500 Ceo tell me that.
The Office is a rarity. They really make a conscience effort to make the material believeable which is really hard when trying to create a comedy show. Do you really want them to absurdist like 30 Rock or Scrubs.
Give my a break. What hiring and firing to a Greedy Executive only concerned about their profit margin. -- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 24, 2009, 12:51 am

Highlander - Movie SeriesYeah, the anime was pretty decent. Better than all the live action sequels, and the all-but-forgotten atrocious French cartoon. But apparently the producers screwed over the anime director (same guy as Ninja Scroll, IIRC) and cut a bunch of stuff out. The producers claimed they were going to release a director's cut, but never did. -- Submitted By: (Travoltron) on July 23, 2009, 10:00 pm

Santa Clause, The - Movie SeriesThanks to this movie, people all over America are misspelling the name "Santa Claus". -- Submitted By: (Travoltron) on July 23, 2009, 9:52 pm

Tyra Banks - CelebritiesTyra Banks is like the Mob piss her off and she'll try to make you disappear. -- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 23, 2009, 5:57 pm

Firefly - TV ShowsI sorry I watch a lot of these shows on SciFi channel. I love Joss Whedon but I can't stand this show. Spaceships and Cowboys just don't go to together.
I could never get over space travelers talking like they were from a bad western. -- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 23, 2009, 5:51 pm

Boston Legal - TV ShowsAnother David E. Kelley program where the actors contracts are written on water. If your not the lead or interesting. Your likely to be replaced with no explanation.
This show became the Denny Crane/Alan Shore show. With the rest of the cast left flapping in the wind. Gone as quickly as the came. I found Denny and Alan interesting but I would have liked to know more about the other characters too.
-- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 23, 2009, 5:43 pm

Boston Public - TV ShowsOf Course a ahow about teachers is going to have to have to student reactions. I never saw an episode I didn't like. I do think the way character faded in and out towards the end to be highly annoying. -- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 23, 2009, 5:36 pm

Ghostwriter - TV ShowsCompletely loved the show start to finish with some exceptions mainly Exit Stage Left: ROB and Same character different actor: Gaby. I could not understand a word that second Gaby said or why she was younger that the original Gaby.
Also the whole slime monster incident. -- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 23, 2009, 5:17 pm

Tate Donovan - CelebritiesDating Tate will make you famous. Unfortunately the magic doesn't work on him. -- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 23, 2009, 4:39 pm

Salute Your Shorts - TV ShowsLOVED IT INGENIOUS. The characters were real kids acting like real kids. There was never a moment where I questioned the reality of it all. I feel like I was there with them the whole time.
Not like today where all the teen shows are silly overblown hyperactive caricatures of what they think kids are suppose to act like. -- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 23, 2009, 4:30 pm

Saved by the Bell: The New Class - TV ShowsI could have been ten times a better show if they didn't have such a revolving cast members. I mean just when I was getting used to the people they had in season 1. They get rid of them and replace them with someone esle without any explanation.
What makes it so bad is that it was the people who I thought stood out. Bonnie Russavage(Vicki Needleman),Robert Sutherland Teifer(Scott Erickson,and Isaac Lidsky(Barton Weasel Wyzell) -- Submitted By: (Yusiri86) on July 23, 2009, 4:20 pm

JumptheShark.com - WebsitesI just found this place today. It's nice to find that the crowd that used to frequent JTS has found a new home.
Fortunately, I kept my own personal copies of the content I sent to "the place that shall not be named", and I'll start putting them up in the appropriate places here. -- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 23, 2009, 12:15 pm

Dr. Phil - TV ShowsI had the misfortune of being subjected to this show while I was undergoing physiotherapy, as they had it on the TVs while I was getting worked over. I can assure you I'd never voluntarily watch this.
What amazes me most about this program is that people are willing to appear on it. I can only assume that the concept of privacy in ones personal life is obsolete, as it would appear that people are perfectly willing to destroy their reputations and that of their entire family if it means that they'll get on TV. I was stunned, not so much that some of these people existed, but that they were willing to discuss these issues on national television, and presumably using their real names. I'm sure that must make for some awkward conversations with the neighbors over the fence!
Someone described this show to me as "Jerry Springer for the middle class", and I think it's a perfect summary. -- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 23, 2009, 12:00 pm

Hee Haw - TV ShowsWe used to watch this long ago in the early seventies, but I can't honestly recall why. (No one in the family was particularly interested in country music, and even as a seven year old, I felt the jokes were 'corny'). I can only guess that Hee Haw happened to be run between two other programs we wanted to see, and there wasn't anything better on any of the other channels. So, for lack of anything better to watch, this stayed on for half an hour. More memories of what life was like in the black and white channel 2 - 13 era, before VCRs, DVDs, and the 300 channel universe... -- Submitted By: (Eugene) on July 23, 2009, 10:33 am

Oceans 11 - Movie SeriesThe original, well, the remake I guess I should say, of the original Sinatra movie, I find in many ways to be a lot better. I like that they actually get away with it, I like the ensemble cast, and I think the movie's very, very well done. The problem is that they thought they could keep that momentum and fluidity and they couldn't. 12 was extremely incoherent with everyone babbling and talking over each other and terrible cinematography as well as an extremely forced twist ending. 13 had too wide of a focus and terrible, terrible sub-plots. Also, they both made terrible use of their talented supporting cast like Bernie Mac and Don Cheadle. What a waste. -- Submitted By: (SamuraiPanda201) on July 23, 2009, 10:04 am

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - Movie SeriesGene Wilder's Willy Wonka and that version is definitive. It variates from the book here and there obviously, but it is a classic. Great music (I'm not the only one who loves Cheer Up, Charlie, am I?) and great characters all around. In addition to Wilder, I love Mr. Salt's actor and I love Jack Albertson as Grandpa Joe. The factory has both sequences that make me smile and tear up from nostalgia and still cringe in fear and get goosebumps from. For whatever reason, Tim Burton decided he had to do a remake. I thought, okay, this could be good. He's kind of a dark and twisted sensibility mixed with melancholy humor. I think that works, considering the subject matter of the book (naughty children are horribly mutilated for their misdeeds). And he had the great Johnny Depp for his Willy Wonka. I was nervous, because Wilder is so definitive in the role but I thought Depp's ability would make it at least a comparable effort. But I was wrong! Depp's characterization was not only far and away from the book, but also completely creepy and ultimately boring. The good parts of the movie were overshadowed by Burton's lack of focus: choosing to make Wonka a more "human" character by showing flashbacks of him as a child and interacting with his father and even the subplot at the end of finding his father made the movie drag on, it made the pace way off, and it destroyed Wonka's character completely, as previous to this, he seemed almost other-worldly. The remake was a completely unnecessary and disappointing effort. -- Submitted By: (SamuraiPanda201) on July 23, 2009, 10:00 am

Napoleon Dynamite - Movie SeriesI was the last person to see this movie and maybe if I hadn't been, I might have liked it a lot more. But everyone was quoting those lines..."Your mom goes to college." "Is she hot?" "Whatever I feel like. Gosh..." And then I saw the movie and they're nowhere nearly as interestingly used as I thought they might be. Also, they only make sense within the movie! This is not a one-liner movie like Anchorman or those types of movies. I said that I think I might have found it a good movie had I seen it before all the hype, but I kind of doubt that. I don't think it was as much of a good movie as people seem to think it is. -- Submitted By: (SamuraiPanda201) on July 23, 2009, 9:55 am

Mighty Ducks, The - Movie SeriesProbably the best Disney movie series ever. Also, a rare occasion where I think the sequel was superior to the original. The original was a classic though. And III wasn't so bad either. -- Submitted By: (SamuraiPanda201) on July 23, 2009, 9:52 am